Thursday, September 4, 2014

The Saint Mary’s student-organized solar panel initiative was successful in raising approximately $14,000, enough to order a 3.8 kilowatt system for campus.

In order to take advantage of a Made in Minnesota Solar Panel Rebate, the project was downsized, but student organizers are excited for the project to begin.

“I think it’s a good start to decreasing our carbon footprint, and classes will be able to understand the value of solar panels and other green initiatives,” said senior Conner Ellinghuysen, one of the initiative’s organizers. “One of the great things about this project is that it has the potential to connect many disciplines of the university, from business to science classes.

“This is just the start,” Ellinghuysen said. “We will have the ability to expand on the system in the future.”

The solar panels will be installed in October. A location is yet to be determined. The system will reduce the university’s carbon footprint, save the university money, and provide educational experiences for students.

The system expected to produce over 4,700 kilowatts per year on average, or about 50 percent of the average household usage. It will also save 4 tons of carbon emission each year.

Over the summer, Josh Lallaman, Ph.D., (Biology) was awarded two contracts to survey Minneapolis/greater metro area lakes. Summer biology interns assisted with surveying the fish communities in Sand and Long Lakes (Washington County).

Additional biology student volunteers will be assisting with surveying common carp populations in Spring, Arctic, and Cedar Lakes (Scott County) in September. These contracts are a result of collaboration with Saint Mary’s biology alumnus Mike Majeski, who currently works for the environmental consulting firm Emmons & Olivier Resources, Inc.

Stephen Woessner, a nationally recognized internet marketing author, speaker and consultant, will speak on campus Monday, Sept. 8, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in the Common Room.

Woessner is a two-time international best-selling author; has been published in Forbes, the Washington Post, and others; is an educator and business consultant for the University of Wisconsin System; is the CEO of Predictive ROI; is a consultant with more than 15 years of experience; and developed a patent-pending ROI process.

Science-fiction, radio play drama, and a graphic novel combine to bring Robot Planet’s Intergalactic Nemesis to the Page stage Friday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m.

Using the sound effects of radio drama, super-sized projections of a graphic novel, a live keyboard player, and live actors playing various parts, the premise is simple: a period adventure story (with no small share of laughs) featuring Pulitzer-winning reporter Molly Sloan, her intrepid assistant Timmy Mendez, and a mysterious librarian named Ben Wilcott face the most serious threat Earth has ever known: an impending invasion of sludge monsters from the planet Zygon.

Appropriate for all ages, this show will have gamers, science fiction fans, radio drama fans, and people just looking for an entertaining evening of adventure and fun on the edge of their seats, shouting for more.

Tickets are $27 for adults, $24 for seniors and students and are available at the box office 10 a.m. to 6 p.m Monday through Friday at ext. 1715 or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Chicago artist Cherith Lundin is displaying her work in “An excess of ground,” through Oct. 10 at the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries, located in the Toner Student Center. The exhibit is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Lundin is a visual artist whose work ranges in media from drawing and painting to photography and installation. Her work examines the architectural contours of everyday life and extracts moments of fluidity within familiar spaces, where apparent dichotomies such as inside and outside, figure and ground, proximity and distance mingle.

The trio will be honored during an awards ceremony on Friday, Sept. 12. Along with the induction of this year’s Hall of Fame class, Friday’s ceremony will also honor Saint Mary’s 2013-14 postseason award-winners, and recognize the 2013-14 Outstanding Male and Female Athletes, and Outstanding Scholar Athletes.

Saint Mary’s graduates from the past decade have been invited back to campus for Young Alumni Weekend, Sept. 12-14.

More than 150 alumni are expected to attend the full weekend of events which will include a faculty and staff social, a young alumni gathering at Mulligan’s (featuring music by Adam Stasica ‘07, Development), ropes course activities, disc golfing and the Cardinal Dash 5K. New this year is an alumni party at Betty Jo’s Saturday evening.

The weekend also coincides with Cardinal ‘M’ Club Weekend, giving Saint Mary’s alumni opportunities to cheer on Cardinal athletics.

For more information, contact Bob Fisher at Ext. 6658 or rfisher@smumn.edu. To read more about this event, or to register, go www.mysmumn.org/yaw14.

The first annual transfer dinner took place Aug. 27. The dinner was held for incoming transfer students and featured information on services and a great speech by former transfer student Brendan Garvey. The dinner was attended by 14 students as well as representatives from Admission, Student Life and the Student Success Center.

The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts offers programming in dance, music, visual art, and theatre, year-round. Classes, lessons, workshops and camps are offered for youth (beginning with 3-year-olds) through adults at the Valéncia Arts Center located at 1164 West 10th St.

Classes begin on Monday, Sept. 8, and run through Nov.15. There is some wonderful new programming and registrations are now being accepted.

Class days, times and tuition vary. Financial need-based scholarships are available. For a brochure and a complete listing, visit www.mnconservatoryforthearts.org, e-mail mca@smumn.edu, “like” them on Facebook, or call 453-5500. Interested students may registration online, by mail, or in person at MCA’s Valéncia Arts Center.

Saint Mary’s has partnered with ProPurchaser, a price analytics software company. Students in Michael Ratajczyk’s Principles of Microeconomics and Business Intelligence will utilize the ProPurchaser tools to build price optimization models, using supply and demand factors from the market for goods available globally.

Price optimization is an integral part of an organization and deeply rooted in analytics. It involves understanding how much to charge a customer for a product or service, essentially maximizing profit, and avoiding overcharging customers and inviting them to spend their money elsewhere. Students in the Business Intelligence and Analytics program will utilize Price Optimization with retail datasets that contain over 50 million customer transactions.

Dr. Debra Martin, βββ NC3 District director, attended the National Beta Beta Beta biennial convention that was hosted by Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania on June 3-8.

Also attending the meeting were four Saint Mary’s University students who were District Beta Beta Beta winners. Amy Spitzmueller ’14 presented a poster on “Heavy Metal Analysis of Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) from East Lake Winona”; Kristen Thelen ’14 presented a paper on “The effects of in utero atrazine exposure on the hematopoietic system and body mass in Mus musculus”; Katie Smith ’13 presented a poster on “The effects of in utero exposure to atrazine on the hematopoietic system in Mus musculus”; and Bridget Richardson ’13 presented a paper on “The antibacterial effect of the Goggle Sanitizer.”

Highlights of the meeting were interacting with fellow research students, visiting the Erie Zoo, biking and kayaking on Presque Isle, and visiting Niagara Falls.

Cassandra Hulett (2012) and Rachel Frechette (2011). In press. The rise and fall of green sunfish in Gilmore Creek. Bios (note: this article includes a historical review of Saint Mary’s research on Gilmore Creek, including the work of Brother George Pahl, who would go on to become the college president).